Although I never met the man, I imagine Lou
Boudreau would have made one heck of a field sales trainer. In 1942 the
24-year old Cleveland Indians shortstop was promoted to player/manager
of his team, and for the next eight years Boudreau did what we, as
trainers, are called upon to do every day: demonstrate success, inspire
success and cultivate success. Think of it as the triple play of sales
training.

Demonstrate

A seven-time All-Star shortstop, Boudreau
was only the second manager to take the Indians to a World Series
Championship, and no one has done so since. Clearly, he was a man who
demonstrated success. As field sales trainers we must similarly make
success a habit. Given that we are the advertisement for our training
program, demonstrating success is the way we establish credibility with
reps; it's the "walk" of our "talk". A field contact with a trainer may
be the first "in situ" opportunity a new rep has to test their
impressions of the company, and possibly the pharmaceutical industry as a
whole. Is what we say consistent with the corporate sales direction? Is
what we do consistent with what we say? Most importantly, are we
successful at gaining physician commitment and moving the sales process
forward?

New sales reps watch us closely for cues
on attitude, performance standards and day-to-day work practices. They
also ask a lot of questions. Inexperienced reps may need guidance on
effective territory management and specific techniques for gaining
access to prescribers. In addition to seeking direction they are also
forming opinions about us. As trainers we should ask ourselves: "Do we
willingly invest our time to help new reps develop their skills?" "Do we
encourage a mutual exchange of ideas?" Both the content and style of
our interactions influence a rep's perceptions of us as leaders and
mentors, and establish the tone of our ongoing training relationship.

Experienced reps are more familiar with
the demands of the position, so their concerns are usually more
territory-specific. Their willingness to accept us as role models may
depend on how well we demonstrate successful resolution of field
challenges: "The key thought leader in my area is on the speaker's
bureau for Competitor X. How can I compete with that?" "Most of my
target doctors won't see reps. What can I do to impact their decision
making process?" Established reps need to know that we have successfully
overcome similar challenges and can give them strategies to do the
same.

Demonstrating success is also vital
because as field sales trainers we hold a uniquely dual role in the
sales organization. In addition to the time we spend training and
coaching sales reps, most of us are responsible for increasing sales and
growing market share in our assigned territories. Our ability to manage
our time and territory productively is vital in order to reach our own
performance goals.

Inspire

Selling is fun when sales are good, but
experienced reps know that's not always the case. Without any warning
you run smack into a competitor's newly expanded sales force. Your
blockbuster drug launches with a challenging formulary position. You
spent your weekend studying a new clinical reprint, but every doctor you
see wants to talk about last night's exposé on the cost of prescription
drugs.

Inspiration is our second wind. It keeps
us focused on the big picture when our progress temporarily stalls. It's
a safe bet that all sales reps want to succeed… a good trainer will
inspire them to succeed. The wanting gives us aim, but it is the
inspiration that makes us reach. Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller
understood the power of inspiration to drive performance: "I remember in
1948... I was having a rough season, and instead of replacing me Lou
(Boudreau) said 'We're going to sink or swim with Feller'. After he said
that I won 10 of my last 12 games. He instilled a confidence in his
players they never forgot."

In the final analysis inspiration is
unique to the individual, so figuring out how to inspire our sales reps
may be the most challenging aspect of being a trainer. I have found that
it can also be the most rewarding.

One way to inspire success is to
celebrate its many forms. Baseball fans illustrate this perfectly. Do
they wait soundlessly for the final out in the bottom of the ninth? Of
course not! They cheer every solid crack of the bat… every difficult
catch… every stolen base, because they recognize that each of these
small successes brings them closer to their ultimate goal. The more
skillful the play the more fervent the cheer, which motivates the
athletes to stretch their abilities to achieve even more.

How can you inspire your sales reps?
Encourage them to elect themselves MVP of the week and to share why they
deserve it. Recognize them for little things: earning three minutes
with a hard-to-see physician, mastering a complex clinical reprint, or
getting through a difficult day. I think the single most inspiring thing
you can do is to pay attention to your reps. Don't wait until the
bottom of the ninth to commend their progress. Make a point to notice
their incremental gains and celebrate their success!

Cultivate

When I first started in pharmaceutical
sales I thought I should be just like Gregg, the most successful member
of my team. I stifled my own personality and conducted my sales
presentations as if I were Gregg, copying his voice inflections, the
rhythm of his speech, and even some of his jokes. It wasn't long before I
began to suspect that his achievement was more a matter of luck than
skill, because clearly, this selling approach was a failure!

In truth, the failure was mine. By
rejecting my personal style I had violated one of the fundamental
principles in cultivating success: respect individuality. Gregg's
approach worked for him because it was his. When I rediscovered my style
and trusted my own instinct, that's when I developed success. When
Boudreau was promoted to player/manager his team was made up of more
than just shortstops. He led his team to victory by relying on each
player's unique strengths to overcome the challenges of their position.
Whether we are working with new or veteran reps, we must respect that
their individual traits and talents have gotten them this far. Our job
is to expect more.

How can we help our reps progress from
expecting more to achieving more? By encouraging risk taking and new
behaviors. Too conservative a team culture makes it difficult to raise
the bar; few are willing to reach higher, for fear of falling short. As
trainers we should be first at bat, risking innovative approaches and
new ideas. Boudreau wasn't afraid to think differently. He recognized
that teammate Bob Lemon was misplaced as an infielder, so he reassigned
him to pitcher, liberating Lemon from mediocrity and helping him achieve
MVP/All Star status.

When we move out of our comfort zone we
encourage our reps to stretch as well. And when they do (and they will)
we must cheer them "loud and proud" for elevating the whole team to a
higher level. This higher level becomes our new jumping off point in our
pursuit of even greater accomplishments and goals.

Batter Up!

Just as a coach can't swing the bat for
the player at the plate, we can't be with our teams every play of the
game. We must share our best techniques for sales success, so that when
split-second adjustments need to be made, they have the instinct to make
the right ones.

"I can't be with you every day" has
become something of a team slogan; a reminder that ultimately we each
bear responsibility for creating our own success. As trainers our
mission is to teach the art of unflinching self-assessment. Perhaps the
most important thing we can give our reps is the ability to evaluate
themselves honestly and specifically. Once they master that skill set
they will be rounding third and heading for home!

Sally Bacchetta is an award-winning
freelance writer and sales trainer. She has published articles on a
variety of topics, including sales training and motivation,
pharmaceutical sales and emerging technologies. Read her latest articles on her freelance writer website.